They all want a go, don’t they? Not content with the kudos of being a rock star, they want the added ego boost of having cinemagoers hang on their every word as well. It’s a step too far for some, but others surprise us by displaying acting chops that we didn’t think would be there.
Two parts to this quiz. The first is a series of questions on pop stars who have appeared in movies: they are mainly straight roles that don’t involve music. The second section is very definitely about music-related movies: we have listed 15 roles in music biopics or films that directly take the music industry and its stars as their subject matter, and we have also given you a list of 15 performers. You just have to match the actor to the film.
Answers: here
1 When Icelandic band the Sugarcubes disbanded in 1992, their singer pursued a solo career: who is she? Which 2000 film lead role won her a Palme d’Or?
2 Which two singers starred in the 1976 film, A Star is Born, about the rise of a star while her older lover’s career goes into decline?
3 Who appeared as Max Zorin’s sidekick, May Day, in the 1985 Bond movie View to a Kill? And who provided the film’s theme tune?
4 Who provided the voice of Chef in South Park, a number one chart artist in 1998? In which 1981 cult movie directed by John Carpenter did he appear as a gang leader known as the Duke?
5 Which singer-as-actor connects Down By Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986), Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993), The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009) and Seven Psychopaths (Martin McDonagh, 2012)? What part did he play in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)?
6 The Social Network was a 2010 film about the rise of Mark Zuckerberg and which social media phenomenon? Who played Zuckerberg’s business partner, Sean Parker?
7 The People vs Larry Flynt was a 1996 film about a court case brought against Larry Flynt, the founder and owner of which adult magazine? Which rock star played Flynt’s wife?
8 The 2009 against-the-odds film Precious starred which singer as a social worker? Which Chris O’Donnell/Renee Zellweger romantic comedy gave the singer her first film role?
9 Which singer played Meryl Streep’s lesbian flatmate in the 1983 political drama Silkwood? Which 1987 movie won her an Academy Award?
10 Who earned plaudits for his portrayal of boxer Micky Ward in David O. Russell’s The Fighter (2010)? What was the name of the actor’s band during his pop star years at the start of his career?
11 Which 1983 David Cronenberg film gave Debbie Harry her first major film role? In which 1988 John Waters movie did she play Velma von Tussle, a role that Michelle Pfeiffer would later play?
12 That’ll be the Day was a 1973 film about growing up in the rock and roll age starring David Essex. Who starred alongside him as a worldly teddy boy, Mike? And who co-starred as his friend and manager in the 1974 sequel, Stardust?
13 Who played the misfit Eddie in the cult movie version of the musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Which Academy Award-winning superstar in the making played winsome Janet Weiss?
14 Who played Great Train Robber Buster Edwards in the 1988 crime comedy Buster? Eight years earlier there was a darker drama about the armed robber, John McVicar: who played the title role?
15 Which rapper appeared in Get Him to the Greek (2010) as record company owner Sergio Roma? And which rapper co-starred in the film version of Starsky & Hutch as the street snitch, Huggy Bear?
Which actors played which roles?
1. John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. 2. June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. 3. Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy. 4. Ray Charles in Ray. 5. Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. 6. Joan Jett in The Runaways. 7. Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. 8. Dr Dre in Straight Outta Compton. 9. Hank Williams in I Saw the Light. 10. Jim Morrison in The Doors. 11. Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams. 12. Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. 13. Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It? 14. Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire. 15. Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Angela Bassett; Cate Blanchett; Jamie Foxx; Corey Hawkins; Tom Hiddleston; Aaron Johnson; Val Kilmer; Jessica Lange; Gary Oldman; Joaquin Phoenix; Dennis Quaid; Andy Serkis; Sissy Spacek; Kristen Stewart; Reese Witherspoon.